ES Animarvelous

Bella the lioness returns to Africa and shares a special moment with Born Free Founder, Virginia McKenna. Bella spent most of her life in a ZOO in Romania but found a new home in a wildlife sanctuary in Malawi.

1) Do people only take lions from their natural habitat or also other animals? Could you name a few?

2) Does our natural environment need all the animal species to succeed? What happens to the systems in nature when an animal specie disappears forever?

Grade 4 Art 0910

Although most wild animals are born free (on land and in the ocean), they don’t always stay free to live their lives in their natural habitats.

Each year, countless animals are taken from the wild and end up at the mercy of people who use them for different reasons. Not all wild animals are born free. Many wild animals are often born in captivity. This means that their parents or their parents’ parents were taken from the wild or their natural habitat.

These wild animals end up in zoos, circuses and other animal shows. Many of them end up us “products” in the illegal wildlife trade. Yes, even endangered species!

There is also good news. There are organizations and foundations (like the Born Free Foundation) that work hard to rescue wild animals from their captive circumstances. These people do their best to return these animals to the wild where they could live freely. Animal sanctuaries and protected areas become the animals’ new home to protect him/her from human harm. Read the following story about Christian the Lion. Christian’s parents spent their lives in a zoo, but Christian was given a chance to live freely.

In 1969 a young Australian, John Rendall and his friend Ace Bourke, bought a small lion cub from Harrods pet department, which was then legal. ‘Christian’ was kept in the basement of a furniture shop on the Kings Road in Chelsea, the heart of the swinging sixties.

Loved by all, the affectionate cub ate in a local restaurant, played in a nearby graveyard, but was growing fast… A chance encounter with Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna led to a new life for Christian. He came to live in a huge enclosure and to sleep in a caravan at their Surrey home.

Then in 1971 he was flown to Kenya, his ancestral home, and returned to the wild by lion-man George Adamson. Nine months later in 1972, John and Ace returned to Kora in Kenya. This clip is of their reunion at that time. It was an emotional reunion: “He ran towards us, threw himself onto us, knocked us over and hugged us, with his paws on our shoulders.” ~ John Rendall

Source: Born Free Foundation

1) What does it mean to live your life freely?

2) How does Christian’s behavior in the wild compare to his parents’ behavior in a zoo?

3) Complete the following sentence with your thoughts: Wild animals . . .

Elephant ~ Alexandra Casey HS

Angelica is in Grade 4. How often do we see through another’s eye? Angelica tried her best to see and speak from an elephant’s point of view.

Hi! I am an elephant. I love the jungle, especially the trees. I eat the trees. The trees give me oxygen and cover me from getting wet in the rain. I have 2 tusks beside my trunk. I use them to defend myself from any attackers in the jungle.

Sometimes the poachers (people who kill animals to sell) hunt me for my ivory. Ivory is another word for tusks. They want my ivory because when they sell it they get paid with a lot of money. Poaching is illegal.

Also, the people chop down the threes I eat. My habitat is being chopped all the time. People take my living space and shelter. With the trees they cut they will build buildings, houses, hotels and many more.

So please do not hunt me for my ivory because I use them to defend myself. Please do not chop down all the trees in my habitat because I need them. If you pay attention to these requests, you and I will be great friends!

Your friend

Elephant

Animarvelous students had to think about what they already know about animals. They wrote down their thoughts and for each thought we asked a question in return.

Watch the video and share your thoughts by clicking on COMMENT. What do you think you know about animals or try to answer one of the questions. We are excited to respond to your comments!

Remember: The easiest way to help animals is to be a good example for your family and friends in the way you treat your pets and all other animals. From the tiniest caterpillar to the biggest bear.